Aging with Pride: Equity, Belonging, and Justice Across Intersecting Identities 

Justice for Older Adults: Intersections of Aging, LGBTQ+ Identity, Race, and Disability 

Presenter: 

• Sahar Takshi (Senior Attorney for Equity Advocacy, Justice in Aging) 

Summary:

Older adults belonging to marginalized communities experience compounded impacts from a lifetime of inequities and experience unique barriers in older age. This session will discuss the diverse population of older adults; the inequities experienced by LGBTQ+ older adults, older adults of color, and older adults with disabilities; and the impact of recent federal policies aimed at these communities.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe the intersections of ageism, homophobia, racism, and ableism

• Identify the impacts to older adults of federal efforts targeted at LGBTQ+ communities, communities of color, and healthcare access

• Identify resources aimed at improving the lives of older adults in marginalized communities

Aging in the LGBTQ+ Community: The Need for Culturally Competent Services and Care 

Presenters:

• Alex Maresca, PhD (Training, Advocacy, and Outreach Specialist, Elder Pride Services) 

• Vaune Albanese (Friendly House Elder Panelist) 

• Ruth Szilagyi (Friendly House Elder Panelist) 

• Eric Zimmerman (Friendly House Elder Panelist) 

Summary:

This session will explore the factors that shape aging in the LGBTQ+ community. The session will begin with an overview of Elder Pride Services (EPS), a nonprofit program that supports and advocates for LGBTQ+ older adults in Oregon. The presenters will discuss key findings from a 2021 survey of LGBTQ+ older adults that have shaped EPS’s approach. Then, participants will hear from a panel of LGBTQ older adults about their experiences of aging in the community. Through this session, participants will learn how anti-LGBTQ policies and practices have led to disparities between LGBTQ+ older adults and their peers, and how culturally competent services can help to close the gap.  

Learning Objectives:

• Identify key disparities between LGBTQ+ older adults and their peers

• Explain how anti-LGBTQ policies and practices have shaped the experiences of LGBTQ+ older adults as they age

• Describe how culturally competent services can reduce disparities between LGBTQ+ older adults and their peers

Continuing Education Credits

Certificates of Attendance are available free of charge for anyone who attends the entire session. 

This is the second of four sessions of OGA's 2026 virtual conference. You can register for individual sessions or, at a discount, for the entire conference series. For an overview of all sessions, please visit the conference page.

Register here!

Sahar Takshi joined Justice in Aging in 2021 and works to advance equity for low-income older adults who are marginalized due to race, ethnicity, sexual orientation or gender identity, disability, immigration status, English language proficiency, or other systemic oppression. She is passionate about improving federal policies and programs that allow older adults to age with dignity, as well as educating legal and aging services providers and policymakers on developing equitable partnerships, outreach, and other programming.

Sahar graduated from the University of South Florida with a BA in Psychology and from the American University Washington College of Law with a JD. Prior to joining Justice in Aging, Sahar was a Gallogly Fellow at Legal Counsel for the Elderly where she represented older adult clients seeking to access home- and community-based services.

Alex Maresca is the Training, Advocacy, and Outreach Specialist for the Elder Pride Services program at Friendly House. Before joining Elder Pride Services, Alex earned her PhD in Sociology from the University of California-Irvine, where she researched the movement to end conversion therapy. When she's not at Friendly House, Alex enjoys learning about local history as the Secretary for the Oregon Queer History Collective. 

Vaune Albanese has been a proud Lesbian since coming out of the closet in 1979. She worked at Friendly House for 39 years before retiring at the beginning of the COVID Pandemic. During her time at Friendly House she involved the organization in a pursuit for services for LGBTQ older adults. Friendly House was a founding member of a coalition of social service providers and consumers that eventually created the first official program for this cohort. The program was adopted by Friendly House, eventually funded by Multnomah County, and still going strong 25 years later.

Ruth Szilagyi has been a volunteer with Friendly House Elder Pride Services since 2013, serving on the Housing Committee and Speakers Bureau. She is a 76-year-old cisgender lesbian and uses she/her pronouns. During her work life she held a variety of positions.  She was a crisis counselor in a non-profit, a senior center manager for the City of Phoenix, AZ, a free-lance trainer, a community college instructor in Phoenix and then in the Bay Area, and a business analyst and supervisor for Pacific Gas & Electric in San Francisco.  She and her wife were legally married here in 2015.  They have been together since 1978 and have lived in Phoenix, AZ, and San Francisco, CA before retiring to Portland in 2006.

Eric Zimmerman was born and raised in Southern California and participated in the flourishing of LGBTQ culture in Los Angeles from the late 1970s through the 90s. A singing member of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles throughout those years, he dabbled in street activism as well. This was all a bit much at times since he has always been an introvert by nature. As a Portland resident since 2002, Eric is grateful for what Elder Pride Services has added to his life in recent years and relishes the opportunity to give back. 

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